A collective of Kiama residents are taking steps to form a new group to address issues such as “inappropriate development” and parking.
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Twenty-six people attended a meeting on Tuesday night to establish a Kiama Precinct for Central Kiama.
Central Kiama Precinct president Peter O’Neill said the move to create a central Kiama community group stemmed from the work that members of the Keep Kiama Council Local Committee carried out last year in opposition to the then proposed merger of Kiama and Shoalhaven councils.
“The proposed merger of Kiama council was a wake-up call for a lot of residents who appreciated the fantastic work that Kiama council undertook on our behalf,” Mr O’Neill said.
“However, there were also a number of ongoing issues that residents raised at our meetings that we felt needed to be addressed by the council.
“They included the significant increase in inappropriate development, with accompanying problems such as traffic, parking and overshadowing of other buildings.
“We realised that unlike most of the Kiama council area, residents of the central area of Kiama did not have a formal community group to represent our concerns.”
The aim of the meeting was to explore the need for a central community group and the type of group to establish.
The meeting unanimously decided to establish a precinct group similar to the existing South Precinct model.
The South Precinct group acts as liaison between Kiama council and Gerringong residents.
A number of issues were discussed at the meeting, which will form the basis of future meetings.
Issues discussed include the development in Akuna Street, storm water problems and traffic congestion around Kiama schools.
Mr O’Neill said the proposal to establish a Kiama Central Precinct will be presented to the next meeting of Kiama council in April for endorsement, after which an election of the Precinct executive will be undertaken once the membership procedures are established.
The next meeting of the Central Precinct will take place at 7pm on April 20 in the Joyce Wheatley Community Centre hall in Hindmarsh Park.
Subsequent meetings will be held monthly on the third Thursday of the month in the Joyce Wheatley Community Centre hall.
For further information, contact Peter O’Neill on 0429 674 005.